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I'm writing this because I was shocked... at you, yes you, most of you should hang your heads. In our Jan poll, only 28% had checked their credit file in the last year, and 53% hadn't in 10yrs. This is potentially damaging to your finances - just one error in those files could kibosh them.

The impact of credit files has grown enormously; for mortgages, loans & cards, it's no longer just will you get 'em, but what rate will you get. And these days your file can affect your acceptance for energy, mobiles & car insurance too.

So managing your creditworthiness is crucial, but it's art not science. Just like going on the pull, different lenders like different things; but some things get most going. Full info in my 35 Credit Score Boosters, here are the BIG 5...

1.

How attractive are you? Free test. You don't have a universal credit rating in the UK, each lender scores you differently. You may be surprised by this, especially if you've paid to see your 'credit score' (that's at best just a loose indication, missing crucial affordability data; do read my don't fall for the credit-score hype guide).

In the real world, what counts is whether you'll actually be accepted for products. While it's not what they're designed for, an easy way to test this is to take 1min to use our free eligibility calcs which show your % acceptance odds for lots of products. Do well, and you're tangibly attractive to lenders.

These calculators' primary purpose is to let you home in on a top deal without hitting your file, eg, as Kelly emailed: "Legend. Used the balance transfer eligibility calc and got 35mths 0%, shifted £11,500 from up to 29.9% APR. I'm in shock thinking of the saving [£4,600 in interest]."

Will this affect my credit history? No. Unlike applying which leaves a mark, our eligibility calcs use a soft search so while you see it on your file, lenders don't. The same's true when you check your credit file.

2.

Check your credit file annually and before important applications. There are three main credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax and Callcredit.

Once you get it, check line-by-line for errors. If you don't, and there is a mistake, you may be rejected. And if you keep applying elsewhere after that, even once you fix the error, then having so many applications on your form could still mean rejection. So act sooner.

3.

10 ways to rouge up your credit appeal. Here are the key cosmetic changes to make yourself more attractive to lenders. Full info in 35 credit boosting tips.

a) Get on the electoral roll. If not, getting credit's tougher, as it can cause ID and tracing issues. If you're worried about junk mail, just opt out of the 'open' register. See full electoral roll help.

b) Time it right. Applications stay on files a year, bad stuff (like defaults & CCJs) six years. So if they'll lapse soon, wait before applying. Plus avoid lots of applications in a short space of time.

c) Be accurate about your income. Lenders may verify this, and if it's wrong, you may be auto-declined.

d) Beware joint mortgages, loans & bank accounts. If your credit file is linked to someone else, lenders can see their history when you're assessed, so be careful if they've a bad history. Linking isn't about whether you snog or live together, it's simply from joint mortgages, loans, bank accounts and sometimes utility bills. Related: how to delink your finances.

i) Be consistent. Fraud scoring is credit scoring's secret cousin. If you've a couple of mobiles or job titles, use the same one every time you apply or it can be flagged up as odd. See fraud scoring info.

To get credit, you need credit. Would you lend to someone you knew nowt about? How about someone who's not repaid others in the past? No, and nor will lenders.

Credit scoring predicts your future behaviour based on your past. So no credit history, or one that makes you look a bad credit citizen, usually means rejection.

The bizarre solution is to get a credit card, do £50-£100/mth of normal spending (never withdraw cash) & repay IN FULL each month to avoid interest. The safest way is via direct debit so you're never late. After 6mths to a year, you'll start to gain a history as a good credit citizen.

The catch-22 is how to get accepted if you've poor credit. The solution's specialist credit (re)build cards, and our eligibility calc shows which you're most likely to get. The two top picks are...

PS: Are you due £100s back from Experian's CreditExpert? If you paid for Experian's £15/mth credit monitoring service from 2011 to 2014, you may have been unfairly sold part of it. Our Credit Expert Reclaiming guide shows how to get the cash back, as Dee did: "I sent Experian the template letter and received a payment of £243.59."

We've nagged, begged, cajoled & arranged special tariffs, and 100,000s have switched and saved over £60 million this winter. Yet for those who've not checked if they're being ripped off, or refuse to switch (as many users report elderly parents especially tell them) this is our last-ditch trick... just change tariff with your same provider.

BEST PRACTICE: Do a 5min comparison, save £100+, grab £30 cashback. A final nag: if you're one of the 70% on a standard tariff you're MASSIVELY overpaying. Do our 5min Cheap Energy Club Comparison; it'll find your cheapest, show what you can save, and give you £30 dual fuel cashback if we can switch you.

IF YOU WON'T SWITCH. Find your provider's cheapest tariff. Bizarrely, even though it's the same gas, the same electricity, each energy firm charges a range of rates for using it. And no surprise Sherlock, it's the 'standard tariffs' that most people are on which are by far the most costly. They usually shift across at speed.

1) Go via Cheap Energy Club for £30 cashback. Use our comparison then scroll through results to find your supplier's EXACT cheapest. For many (not all) above, you can switch there and you get £30 dual fuel cashback. 2) Scan through our suppliers' cheapest tariffs list. We've compiled details of each supplier's cheapest tariffs though it is based on average usage and there can be regional variation. Then you can just call up and ask for it.

Unlike buying in-store, buy online and you have a legal right to change your mind and send goods back. New laws to give you more rights were introduced more than 20 months ago, but we've investigated online retailers' websites and found 13 that either haven't updated or are just wrong. Four more hide your rights behind their own usually less generous policies.

Oi, House of Fraser, Karen Millen: you're talking tosh. A range of websites' return pages are giving out wrong info on your rights. See which are the worst offenders and let us know of any more. Here are examples of what's wrong.

- Karen Millen says: "You've only 14 days from purchase to return an item", but the law is you've 14 days after it's delivered to cancel, then 14 days after cancellation to return.

- House of Fraser says: "Return an item within 14 days to get a refund via the original payment method", after that it's vouchers. This is POPPYCOCK. Again you've 14 days to cancel and 14 after that to return goods to get a full refund.

We've told these stores; Karen Millen hasn't replied (for 2 weeks) and while H of Fraser's made some changes it hasn't yet changed all parts of its site - we are reporting them & two others to Trading Standards. Thankfully after we contacted the other 13, they agreed to review their sites - we'll monitor to see how well it's done.

Tool up with your real consumer rights - so you can't be fobbed off. Online buying comes under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, read our full know your rights guide or print our free wallet mini-guide. These are your legal rights. Firms can make them better, but they're not allowed to give you worse conditions.

1. Almost all goods bought online can be cancelled. The key exceptions are personalised and perishable goods. 2. You've up to 28 days after DELIVERY to return. You've 14 days to cancel & 14 days after that to return. 3. The refund is for the goods AND deliv charge. If you choose faster deliv you only get basic costs back. 4. You aren't entitled to costs of sending goods back. So if from another EU country, returning can be costly. 5. If goods are faulty you should get 'reasonable' costs of sending 'em back, under the Consumer Rights Act.

This week we've seen by far the cheapest-ever loan launch for £5,000 to £7,500 borrowing. Yet in Nov the Bank of England warned MPs that borrowing is worryingly 'picking up' and it may at some point effectively force personal loan & buy-to-let lending (not credit card) rates higher. So change could happen. Full help in Cheap Loans.

Ensure you can afford it. Debt's like fire; a good tool but get it wrong and you get burnt. Only borrow if a) you need it for planned spending, eg, car; b) you've budgeted and can afford repayments; c) you minimise it & repay as soon as you can.

- £7,500-£15k:HSBC's* 3.3% rep APR, as is Sainsbury's* over 1-3yrs with Nectar card.- £5,000-£7,499: M&S* is the new lowest-ever at 3.5% rep APR, Sainsbury's* is next best at 4.2%/4.3% rep APR. - £2,000-£4,999:Zopa's* 4.6%-7.9% rep APR, next is Hitachi* (min £2,500) at 7.4% rep APR for 2-5 yrs.- £1,000-£1,999:Zopa* is 7.7%-7.9% rep APR, Hitachi* 12.3% rep APR for 2-5 yrs.

Sadly all these loans are 'representative rate', meaning ONLY 51% of accepted applicants need get that rate; the rest can pay more. Though very roughly the higher your eligibility calc odds the better chance of getting the rate.

Nationwide customer? Trick to beat the cheapest. Apply and get accepted for a loan from any bank or building society (except peer-to-peer lenders incl Zopa), take acceptance proof to Nationwide and if you've your main current account with it (or you switch to it) it'll beat the interest by 0.5 of a percentage point. So a 3.5% loan becomes 3%. See Nationwide loan trick, incl its top current accounts to switch to and full eligibility criteria.

0% credit card 'loans' are far cheaper for smaller amounts. Some 0% cards let new cardholders pay cash into their bank, like a loan, then you owe them instead - called a money transfer. Virgin Money* (eligibility calc) is 32mths 0% for a one-off 1.69% fee, Virgin Money* (eligibility calc) also offers 36mths 0% for a higher 2.39% fee. Never miss a repayment & clear the debt before the 0% ends or they jump to 20.9% rep APR. Do read FULL info in Credit Card Loans first though.

Where is it fair to haggle? Haggling's a key tool in any MoneySaver's arsenal - after all even a price tag is only an indicative mark - it's not legally binding. Please vote where you think it's acceptable to haggle, including...

You would vote for Hillary to be President, but The Donald is your top Republican. 14,000 told us the US presidential candidate they'd vote for if they could. Hillary won with 54% (total for Democrats 76%), and Trump was top Republican with 15% (16% total for Republicans). See the full UK US-election results.

Q: I want to change bank accounts. Can I switch if I have a heavy overdraft since being a student, eg, £2,800? Leyla, via email.

MSE Rosie's A: There aren't any set rules in place regarding switching bank accounts if you're overdrawn - whether you get an overdraft, and whether your limit is high enough to switch your existing one, will depend on the new account provider which'll credit check and decide if it's happy to accept you.

This isn't to say that it's impossible - remember, banks make money from you being overdrawn so it can be in their interest to accept you. If you graduated in the last three years, it may be that a graduate account would be the best option for you as they tend to have good 0% overdraft deals.

If your new bank or building society can't help, you'll need to make separate plans to pay back what you owe. For help on this, take a look at our Budget Planner, and for information on the best banks to switch to see Best Bank Accounts.

That's it for this week, but before we go, check out this thread from the forum: "What age were you when you spawned your first wrinkle?" Our forumites are full of wisdom but it comes with downsides. When did you get your first line? Or maybe a grey hair showed up first? Tips for a line-free face include sun dodging, plenty of moisturising - or adopting a relaxed pose.

We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of this email and the site. We're a journalistic website, and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques - but can't promise to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.

What you need to know

This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service.

We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips).

We often link to other websites, but can't be responsible for their content.

Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion.

More about MoneySavingExpert and Martin Lewis

What is MoneySavingExpert.com?Founded in February 2003, it's now the UK's biggest consumer help website with more than 10 million people getting this email and about 13 million using the site every month. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple: saving cash and fighting for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 80 full time staff, more than a third of whom are editorial - researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE.

Who is Martin Lewis?Martin set up and runs MSE, and still writes this email each week (unless it says so). He's an ultra-focused money-saving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own ITV prime-time show The Martin Lewis Money Show and weekly slots on Radio 5 Live, This Morning and Good Morning Britain, among others. He's a columnist for publications including the Telegraph, Sunday Mirror and Woman magazine. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography.

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Any links with an * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See How This Site is Financed.

As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too:

Where we feature insurance products, referring people to insurers or insurance intermediaries can in some circumstances constitute an FCA regulated activity. For this reason, pages with links which take you to the sites of insurers or insurance intermediaries are hosted by MoneySavingExpert.comLimited on behalf of MoneySupermarket.comGroup PLC.

It's also worth knowing that MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). The registered office address of both MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC and MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited (registered in England No. 3157344) is MoneySupermarket House, St. David's Park, Ewloe, Chester, CH5 3UZ. Telephone 01244 665700. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited.

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